The national emergency brought on by the pandemic that has swept our planet has required thinking well beyond the proverbial box in almost every institution and process. Certainly, the ramifications of social distancing, the now-clear evidence for the need to wear masks and the like, have wreaked havoc on our ability to meet together in groups and has required parliamentarians to reassess new ways of processing the dynamics of group interaction—oft now referred to as “virtual meetings.” Questions arise as to whether bylaws or other rules (namely “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised,” abbreviated RONR) allow for these meetings, what the rules to follow might be, what to do if annual meetings (or biennial or triennial for that matter) must be postponed or cancelled and more.
It is this parliamentarian’s view that the paramount concern for any society is the safety of its members. Certainly, there can be nothing more important than that. Secondarily is the survival of the Society itself so that whether the bylaws state that electronic (or virtual meetings) are allowed is moot. In the face of this emergency, a society must do what it needs to do to progress, to fulfill its obligation to its members and to the community at large, and to strengthen its foundation to meet future challenges.
The most current edition (12th) of RONR has just now hit the bookshelves (i.e., Sept. 1). RONR is the parliamentary authority for all branches of the Episcopal Church as well as most other societies, and this newest edition automatically supersedes all previous versions without any further action by the society that had already adopted it. An entire section (in the Appendix) has been added to this edition on sample rules for electronic meetings. If your group finds the need to use such, I highly recommend your purchasing a copy (available on Amazon for approximately $20). This 600-plus page manual is a must for serious students of parliamentary procedure and for all others who suffer from insomnia. RONR states that meeting by electronic means of any sort must be authorized by the bylaws if any business is to be conducted. An example for such an authorizing bylaws section is included in the text (Section 56). Whether the group is holding a simple teleconference meeting without any Internet support or a full-featured Internet-supported meeting—or any combination thereof—it is important to develop special rules of order for their conduct. The following are just some examples of the kinds of provisions that may be necessary, depending on the needs of the group:
- Information on how to log into the meeting; the date/time, perhaps, and the specific time zone.
- The process for signing in and out of the meeting.
- How the quorum is to be established and maintained.
- Whether the chair may, on their own initiative, cause a member to be disconnected if their connection is causing “undue” interference or if the member is causing a disruption (subject to appeal).
- How the floor is to be assigned when members seek recognition to debate, make motions, ask questions and the like. Note that RONR suggests that after a member is recognized and has finished speaking the chair calls on the next person to seek recognition. This instead of establishing a queue for members upon initially seeking recognition. It is this parliamentarian’s belief that a fairer way is to have such a queue and with a little support from staff or another member perhaps this can easily be accomplished.
- Means by which a member may make an interrupting motion such as a Point of Order or a Question of Privilege must be noted.
- The process of how voting is to be accomplished using the show of hands feature of whichever Internet meeting service the group has selected or roll call by the secretary if necessary. It is highly recommended, however, that the chair in most instances try to have most questions decided using unanimous consent (i.e. “if there is no objection”). A huge amount of time can be saved by doing so, but this would entail members not objecting to an action simply for the sake of objecting—especially when it is clear from debate what the outcome is going to be.
These are just a sample of the kinds of rules which need to be considered in order for an electronic meeting to be successful and efficient. It is strongly suggested that members who have experience using the various on-line formats or professionals be consulted so that all can be in place prior to the beginning of the process for holding such a meeting. Once the meeting has been called to order, special rules (such as those noted in outline format above) should be adopted early on.
As noted in the second paragraph, should the bylaws of a society not state that business meetings of its board or members be allowed to meet electronically, in light of the current national emergency either the board or the membership may need to meet virtually (i.e., by teleconference, online, etc.) in order to consider and adopt a bylaws amendment that would allow for such (as noted above). It should also be noted that if a society is unable to meet to elect new officers that unless there is a process in place in the bylaws to do otherwise—elected officers remain in place and continue to function and serve until circumstances allow for a proper meeting can be held to do so. It is also this parliamentarian’s view that this does not hold true for election of government officials at any level. In the event that a business meeting that has been previously called or one that is required by the bylaws (such as an annual meeting or convention) has had to be canceled for any reason, a future meeting may be set by use of the privileged motion to “fix the time to adjourn” (see RONR Sec. 22 for how to use this motion).
No matter what decisions a society makes during the uncertain and certainly unusual days ahead, it is my belief that it is on firm ground if it follows the concepts of courtesy toward all members, logic and common sense, equality and fairness, majority rule while protecting the inherent rights of the minority of its membership and again the overriding factor of the safety for all of its members.
Your national president has allowed that if your particular group has specific questions that need addressing or if we can be of any assistance to you, feel free to send an email to the address below. We will be happy to help as possible. Finally, I would remind readers of the words of the great and oft-quoted Greek philosopher, Anonymous, who reasoned that “there is no dishonor in the wearing of masks to protect one’s brothers.”
Dennis Clark, PRP
dclarkrp@gmail.com
